Hiring Derek Shelton (a candidate with meaningful ties to and prior experience with the Minnesota Twins) to succeed Rocco Baldelli as manager indicates that team decision-makers don’t believe a significant overhaul of philosophy or messaging is needed for the club to return to postseason contention. On the surface, remaining static after enduring what were two of the most emotionally draining seasons in team history (for off- and on-field reasons) feels like a misguided approach.
Yet, given the club’s recent success (Yes, 2023 and the first half of 2024 weren’t that long ago) and its sound approach to roster building, which many successful major league clubs mimic, there is reason to believe the Twins could contend for the AL Central title in 2026 if they overhaul their bullpen and add one-or-more above-average bats over the offseason. Now, given that team decision-makers are expected to operate under significant spending restrictions this winter, roster improvement attempts won’t manifest through spending in free agency. Yet, given the club’s knack for creative roster building, various high-impact, low-monetary-cost trades could occur in the next handful of months.
As mentioned earlier, Minnesota’s lineup and offensive approach need a significant overhaul, meaning Shelton and team decision-makers would be wise to dismiss Matt Borgschulte as hitting coach. Hiring a new hitting coach and bringing in new personnel to revive what has become one of baseball’s most stagnant lineups will be a daunting task. Yet, much of that burden should be buffered by the Twins’ pitching staff performing like one of the AL’s best units, a standard they have set for themselves since Pete Maki took over as full-time pitching coach on Jul. 1, 2022.
Since Jul. 1, 2022, Minnesota’s pitching staff possesses the following rankings amongst the 15 AL teams:
2nd in fWAR
3rd in FIP
4th in xERA
3rd in SIERA
2nd in strikeout rate and K-BB%
Are some of these metrics confusing and convoluted? Yes, however, they share an overarching point: Minnesota has fielded a top-three AL pitching staff from both a results and projections perspective since Maki took over as full-time pitching coach three-and-a-half seasons ago. Â
Minnesota’s front office and Maki reached this standard by implementing modern research and development practices while acquiring and maximizing starting rotation and bullpen talent. That being the case, Maki has been able to take talented arms like Pablo López, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Jhoan Durán, and others, and maximize their potential through utilizing these resources and methods.
Even in one of the most emotionally draining seasons in contemporary Twins history, wherein team decision-makers parted ways with high-leverage relievers Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart, and Danny Coulombe at the 2025 Trade Deadline, Maki still guided Minnesota toward fielding the AL’s sixth-best pitching staff, according to fWAR. Yes, the unit experienced a significant drop-off post-deadline, ranking 14th out of 15 AL teams in fWAR. Yet, little blame should be placed on Maki for that result, given the bullpen was gutted and the team had given up on the season.
Given the unit’s results over the previous three-and-a-half seasons and the organization’s sound pitching development and research systems, Maki deserves to be retained as the club’s pitching coach under Shelton. With frontline starting pitchers Pablo López and Joe Ryan expected to return next season alongside Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson, and Taj Bradley to round out the rotation, there is reason to believe Minnesota could again possess one of the AL’s most effective starting rotations early next season. Again, the bullpen needs to be reconstructed. Yet, Maki has garnered enough goodwill to oversee that process in 2026.